With its winding narrow alleyways, Akko can still be a little hard to navigate, even after many months. I knew the old city was small—barring a wrong turn, I can find my way to any point in under five minutes—but it’s hard to get a sense of scale without a comparison. Then I remembered a map project called The Errant Isle of Manhattan from a few years ago.
Before I got to Akko, one of my favorite pass times was blocking the path of joggers on the bridle path around The Jacqueline Onassis Reservoir in Central Park. Turns out, at 106 acres, the reservoir is fully 22 acres larger than the Old City, including the city walls.
-Yonatan Rosen
Ze’ev Margalit, the head of the conservation unit for the Israel Nature and Parks Authority, explains the significance of the massive Roman water system in Tsipori.
As the second program of Saving the Stones draws to a close, interns are working on personal conservation projects to contribute to Acre, ranging from architectural documentation to a survey and development plan in the new city.
Weizman Street, Acre’s main commercial strip, should serve to bridge the new and old city, but currently the space between the city walls and the new town is a hard stop. By highlighting Ottoman and Mandate-period structures on this street, Florencia hopes to show how these areas can be unified.
The range of these projects touch on the complex layers of Acre’s history, but they share a goal of using conservation to build community in the city. More information on personal projects to come…
The Sabil al-Jazzar, a Saving the Stones Conservation Project
Situated at the north entrance to the Jazzar Pasha Mosque complex in Akko (Acre), Israel, this 18th Century sabil (public fountain) originally furnished residents of the city with fresh water from the Kabri aqueduct.
Alison conducted architectural documentation of the sabil as part of her work during the first semester of Saving the Stones. In order to better understand the structure and design elements, Ali created a 3D model using Google SketchUp.
The aim of every personal project is to create tangible benefits for the community of Akko. The documentation lays the groundwork for the conservation of the structure, in the hopes that one day the mosque will be able to return the Sabil to its original use.
View a presentation of Ali’s work here, or explore the model online.
A conservation project along the sea walls in Akko has turned into a Marine Archaeology excavation. To shore up the city walls, the conservation department had to remove concrete that had been used during earlier interventions from the British Mandate. This meant building a levy around the wall, which revealed the remains of the Hellenistic sea port. Here, Mohammad discusses the finds with members of the conservation team.
